VIDEO: Starting Aug. 1, current and past first responders may use a medically documented post-traumatic stress disorder to apply for workers’ compensation. This is part of Louisiana Act No. 112, which unanimously passed through both the Louisiana House and Senate.
“It helps from the standpoint if they require inpatient treatment," said Licensed Professional Counselor Craig Kennedy. “This treatment can be expensive and cause a loss of income.”
Kennedy helps many area first responders with PTSD treatment.
“Shreveport Fire and some other agencies use us for counseling,” Kennedy said.
He added that many first responders have bottled up traumatic events for years, causing them to have PTSD.
“There is no cure for PTSD but there is treatment,” Kennedy says.